What to pack for a family RTW trip!

‘How do you start packing for a year on the road?’

A great question that I have been asked time and time again – I’m not going to get into a lengthy post about the ins and outs of packing for a round the world trip, which really has so many variables depending on what you are doing. Instead, I’m going to get straight to the point with our list of exactly what we took for a year travelling around the world.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is pack as lightly as possible – it’s likely you will be lugging these bags on and off planes, buses, trains, tuk-tuks and carts time and time again. I have to say we used everything we took and we didn’t really want for anything, so I think we judged it pretty well:

Packing List Main Luggage

Boys rucksacks (each):

4 x T-Shirt/short-sleeved top

1 x lightweight trousers/walking trousers

1 x lightweight shorts/trousers (convertible)

2 x shorts

2 x long-sleeved tops

1 x jumper (or sweater, or fleece)

1 x gilet

1 x waterproof jacket

4 x socks

1 x hiking socks

5 x pants (underwear)

1 x trainers

1 x hiking boots

1 x flip flops

1 x fins

1 x mask & snorkel

2 x swimming trunks

1 x sun hat / baseball cap

1 x sleeping bag liner

1 x pyjama

1 x travel towel

Jake: first aid kit including antihistamine, emergency antibiotics, pain killers, plasters

Josh: hair clippers

Additions along the way:

2 x rash vest / sun protection top

1 x rock shoes

 

 

Me

1 x sun top

3 x t-shirt/top

1 x shorts

1 x skirt

1 x skort

1 x casual/beach dress

1 x lightweight stretch climbing jeans (simond)

1 x walking trousers

2 x normal bra

2 x sports bra

7 x pants (underwear)

3 x socks

1 x hiking socks

1 x sports socks

1 x bikini

1 x swim suit

1 x fins

1 x mask and snorkel

1 x hiking shoes

1 x hiking boots

1 x trainers

1 x sandals

1 x flip flops

1 x going out top

1 x gilet

1 x jumper

1 x waterproof jacket

1 x running shorts

1 x running top

1 x sleeping bag liner

1 x quick dry travel towel

1 x diary

1 x family wash bag with soap, shampoo bars, razor, toothpaste, toothbrushes, sun cream, jungle formula mosquito repellent

Picked up along the way

3 x T-shirt (couldn’t resist in Cambodia)

1 x going out dress

 

Him

2 x wicking T-shirts

2 x short sleeved shirts

2 x long sleeved tops

2 x shorts

1 x lightweight stretch climbing jeans (simond)

1 x walking trousers

2 x swim shorts

5 x boxer shorts (underwear)

2 x normal socks

2 x running socks

1 x walking socks

1 x fins

1 x mask and snorkel

1 x hiking shoes

1 x hiking boots

1 x trainers

1 x flip flops

1 x gilet

1 x jumper

1 x waterproof jacket

1 x running shorts

2 x running top

1 x sleeping bag liner

1 x quick dry travel towel

Picked up along the way:

2 x cotton T-shirts

2 x Board shorts / swim shorts – bargain from the op shop (charity shop) in Melbourne.

 

Hand luggage

Initially we wanted to avoid extra hand luggage altogether, but we soon came to the conclusion that this was totally unrealistic, especially when we had to consider computers for both work and school, exercise books, important stuff etc. So, Dougie has ended up with our computers, for school and work, in a small, day sack size rucksack as hand luggage, along with a file of our important documents (insurance, visas, vaccination certificates, etc.).

Jake carried a small rucksack that holds the boys pencil cases, phones, headphones, games (Uno, Pass the Pigs and Yahtzee are our games of choice for whiling away the hours in airport lounges, on boats or train/bus stations), sunglasses, chargers and bits and bobs.

I had a small handbag that started with just essentials such as purse, glasses, sunglasses, phone, etc.

Josh started with no hand luggage. As time and travels have progressed, we gained a travel guitar (now Josh’s hand luggage) and a cool bag + contents (my handluggage). It made preparing food for ourselves easier and helped us stay in budget…particularly in those more expensive countries we have visited.

Hand luggage boys (one small rucksack between two):

2 x pencil case with pen, pencil, ruler, crayons, rubber etc.

3 x small games (our choices: Pass the Pigs, Yahtzee, Uno)

2 x phone (for camera, video, music, etc.), 2 x earphones, 2 x chargers, 2 x universal adaptors

2 x sun glasses

Additions along the way:

1 x Rubik’s cube

1 x Dos (Uno’s little brother)

1 x Random toy I don’t know the name of!

 

Hand luggage me

Glasses

Phone, Headphones, Charger, Adaptor plug

Purse, money, debit & credit card, medical cards

Bamboo straws

2 x Life straw water bottles (these were a god send in Asia, so we weren’t reliant on bottled water).

Picked up along the way:

8 x Bamboo drinking straws

1 x Cool bag

4 x Bowls

4 x Cups

1 x Small flask

1 x Bread board

4 x Knife, fork & spoon sets

 

Hand luggage him

1 x wallet with credit card, driver’s licence, etc.

2 x laptop

1 x ipad

1 x Phone, headphones, charger, universal adaptor,

1 x go-pro

1 x document file containing insurance, visa printouts, passport photos

2 x A5 notebooks (mine with research and for work)

4 x A4 exercise books

1 x back up hard drive

1 x mobile charging pack

…plus charging leads for everything above!!!

 

And that’s it! If you’re thinking of travelling the world with your family and you think this list would be useful for you, message with your email address and I can send you a downloadable copy. Happy travels!!